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Abstract:

An information search device in accordance with the present invention is
configured such that a search request acceptance means accepts, object
search condition information and associated information search condition
information while a search means stores, into the main storage portion
from the data storage portion, the index of the analysis object
information including the analysis object corresponding to the object
search condition information, and the index of the associated information
including the associated information corresponding to the associated
information search condition information, searches for the analysis
object identified by the object search condition information from the
main storage portion and stores, into the main storage portion, the index
associating the associated information with the analysis object
information corresponding to the searched analysis object, and searches
for the information corresponding to the search condition information
from the respective indexes stored in the main storage portion.

Claims:

1. An information search device comprising: a data storage portion having
stored an index of analysis object information, an index of associated
information which is a predetermined analysis result for each analysis
object, and an index associating the analysis object information with the
associated information of the analysis object; a main storage portion
temporarily storing the respective indexes read out from the data storage
portion; a search request acceptance unit for accepting search condition
information denoting a search request of the information to be searched
for from the data storage portion; and a search unit for reading out at
least some of the respective indexes from the data storage portion to
store the same into the main storage portion based on the search
condition information, and searching for the information corresponding to
the search condition information from the respective indexes stored in
the main storage portion, wherein the search request acceptance unit
accepts, as the search condition information, object search condition
information which is the condition for identifying the analysis object,
and associated information search condition information which is the
condition for identifying the associated information, wherein the search
unit stores, into the main storage portion from the data storage portion,
the index of the analysis object information including the analysis
object corresponding to the object search condition information, and the
index of the associated information including the associated information
corresponding to the associated information search condition information;
searches for the analysis object identified by the object search
condition information from the main storage portion and stores, into the
main storage portion, the index associating the associated information
with the analysis object information corresponding to the searched
analysis object; and searches for the information corresponding to the
search condition information from the respective indexes stored in the
main storage portion.

2. The information search device according to claim 1, wherein while
carrying out the process of storing, into the main storage portion, the
index of the analysis object information including the analysis object
corresponding to the object search condition information, the process of
searching for the analysis object identified by the object search
condition information from the main storage portion, and the process of
storing, into the main storage portion, the index associating the
associated information with the analysis object information corresponding
to the searched analysis object, the search unit stores, into the main
storage portion, the index of the associated information including the
associated information corresponding to the associated information search
condition information.

3. The information search device according to claim 2, wherein the search
unit searches for the information corresponding to the search condition
information from the respective indexes stored in the main storage
portion after storing, into the main storage portion, all of the indexes
of the associated information including the associated information
corresponding to the associated information search condition information.

4. The information search device according to claim 1, wherein
meta-information is stored to identify each segment into which each of
the indexes is divided under a predetermined condition respectively; and
based on the meta-information, the search unit identifies and stores,
into the main storage portion, the segments of the index of the analysis
object information including the analysis object corresponding to the
object search condition information, the segments of the index of the
associated information including the associated information corresponding
to the associated information search condition information, and the
segments of the index associating the associated information with the
analysis object information corresponding to the searched analysis
object.

5. The information search device according to claim 4, wherein the search
unit preferentially stores, into the main storage portion, the segments
of the index associating the associated information with the analysis
object information including more analysis object information
corresponding to the searched analysis object.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer program
comprising instructions for causing an information processing device to
realize a function, the information processing device comprising: a data
storage portion having stored an index of analysis object information, an
index of associated information which is a predetermined analysis result
for each analysis object, and an index associating the analysis object
information with the associated information of the analysis object; and a
main storage portion temporarily storing the respective indexes read out
from the data storage portion, the function comprising: a search request
acceptance unit for accepting search condition information denoting a
search request of the information to be searched for from the data
storage portion; and a search unit for reading out at least some of the
respective indexes from the data storage portion to store the same into
the main storage portion based on the search condition information, and
searching for the information corresponding to the search condition
information from the respective indexes stored in the main storage
portion, wherein the search request acceptance unit accepts, as the
search condition information, object search condition information which
is the condition for identifying the analysis object, and associated
information search condition information which is the condition for
identifying the associated information, wherein the search unit stores,
into the main storage portion from the data storage portion, the index of
the analysis object information including the analysis object
corresponding to the object search condition information, and the index
of the associated information including the associated information
corresponding to the associated information search condition information;
searches for the analysis object identified by the object search
condition information from the main storage portion and stores, into the
main storage portion, the index associating the associated information
with the analysis object information corresponding to the searched
analysis object; and searches for the information corresponding to the
search condition information from the respective indexes stored in the
main storage portion.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium storing the computer
program according to claim 6, wherein while carrying out the process of
storing, into the main storage portion, the index of the analysis object
information including the analysis object corresponding to the object
search condition information, the process of searching for the analysis
object identified by the object search condition information from the
main storage portion, and the process of storing, into the main storage
portion, the index associating the associated information with the
analysis object information corresponding to the searched analysis
object, the search unit stores, into the main storage portion, the index
of the associated information including the associated information
corresponding to the associated information search condition information.

8. An information search method for the use of an information processing
device including a data storage portion having stored an index of
analysis object information, an index of associated information which is
a predetermined analysis result for each analysis object, and an index
associating the analysis object information with the associated
information of the analysis object, and a main storage portion
temporarily storing the respective indexes read out from the data storage
portion, the method comprising: accepting object search condition
information which is the condition for identifying the analysis object,
and associated information search condition information which is the
condition for identifying the associated information, as search condition
information denoting a search request of the information to be searched
for from the data storage portion; and storing, into the main storage
portion from the data storage portion, the index of the analysis object
information including the analysis object corresponding to the object
search condition information, and the index of the associated information
including the associated information corresponding to the associated
information search condition information, searching for the analysis
object identified by the object search condition information from the
main storage portion and storing, into the main storage portion, the
index associating the associated information with the analysis object
information corresponding to the searched analysis object, and searching
for the information corresponding to the search condition information
from the respective indexes stored in the main storage portion, when
reading out at least some of the respective indexes from the data storage
portion to store the same into the main storage portion based on the
search condition information, and searching for the information
corresponding to the search condition information from the respective
indexes stored in the main storage portion.

9. The information search method according to claim 8, wherein when
reading out at least some of the respective indexes from the data storage
portion to store the same into the main storage portion based on the
search condition information, the index of the associated information,
which includes the associated information corresponding to the associated
information search condition information, is stored into the main storage
portion, while carrying out the process of storing, into the main storage
portion, the index of the analysis object information including the
analysis object corresponding to the object search condition information,
the process of searching for the analysis object identified by the object
search condition information from the main storage portion, and the
process of storing, into the main storage portion, the index associating
the associated information with the analysis object information
corresponding to the searched analysis object.

Description:

[0002] In a security system such as that carrying out motion line analysis
of a person to search for the characteristics of the person in a
predetermined place, there are many cases of accumulating a large amount
of analytical data analyzed by a predetermined analytical engine to carry
out complicated searches on the large amount of data. However, when
carrying out such kind of searches on a large amount of data, although it
is necessary to once store the data of the search objects into a main
storage device, it is difficult to keep the large amount of data in the
main storage device at one time if the capacity of the main storage
device is limited. This, therefore, gives rise to a problem that a large
number of inputs and outputs of data occur between the main storage
device, and the storage device storing the analytical data; as a result,
the search performance degrades significantly.

[0003] Patent Document 1:
JP 11-31148 A

[0004] Hence, there is a disclosure in Patent Document 1 of a technique
for improving information search processing speed. The technique of
Patent Document 1 deploys the index data of a key word in the main
storage device in descending order of the number of references to the key
word in the past.

[0005] However, the above system gives rise to such a problem that
although it is effective in improving the search processing speed for the
case of searching again with a key word which was used many times in
searches of the past, a high-speed search still cannot be performed for a
search request with a key word which is used in a search for the first
time. Especially, when carrying out a search on a large amount of
analytical data as described above, there are many occasions of searching
for information with a specific condition, and thus first-time searches
often happen. Therefore, the problem, as described above, that high-speed
searches cannot be performed, becomes conspicuous.

SUMMARY

[0006] Hence, an exemplary object of the present invention is to solve the
above problem of the decrease in search speed at the time of searching on
analytical data.

[0007] In order to achieve the above exemplary object, an aspect of the
present invention provides an information search device including:

[0008] a data storage portion having stored an index of analysis object
information, an index of associated information which is a predetermined
analysis result for each analysis object, and an index associating the
analysis object information with the associated information of the
analysis object;

[0009] a main storage portion temporarily storing the respective indexes
read out from the data storage portion;

[0010] a search request acceptance means for accepting search condition
information denoting a search request of the information to be searched
for from the data storage portion; and

[0011] a search means for reading out at least some of the respective
indexes from the data storage portion to store the same into the main
storage portion based on the search condition information, and searching
for the information corresponding to the search condition information
from the respective indexes stored in the main storage portion.

[0012] Then, the search request acceptance means accepts, as the search
condition information, object search condition information which is the
condition for identifying the analysis object, and associated information
search condition information which is the condition for identifying the
associated information, while the search means stores, into the main
storage portion from the data storage portion, the index of the analysis
object information including the analysis object corresponding to the
object search condition information, and the index of the associated
information including the associated information corresponding to the
associated information search condition information; searches for the
analysis object identified by the object search condition information
from the main storage portion and stores, into the main storage portion,
the index associating the associated information with the analysis object
information corresponding to the searched analysis object; and searches
for the information corresponding to the search condition information
from the respective indexes stored in the main storage portion.

[0013] Further, another aspect of the present invention provides a
computer program including instructions for causing an information
processing device to realize a function,

[0014] the information processing device including:

[0015] a data storage portion having stored an index of analysis object
information, an index of associated information which is a predetermined
analysis result for each analysis object, and an index associating the
analysis object information with the associated information of the
analysis object; and

[0016] a main storage portion temporarily storing the respective indexes
read out from the data storage portion,

[0017] the function including:

[0018] a search request acceptance means for accepting search condition
information denoting a search request of the information to be searched
for from the data storage portion; and

[0019] a search means for reading out at least some of the respective
indexes from the data storage portion to store the same into the main
storage portion based on the search condition information, and searching
for the information corresponding to the search condition information
from the respective indexes stored in the main storage portion,

[0020] wherein the search request acceptance means accepts, as the search
condition information, object search condition information which is the
condition for identifying the analysis object, and associated information
search condition information which is the condition for identifying the
associated information,

[0021] wherein the search means stores, into the main storage portion from
the data storage portion, the index of the analysis object information
including the analysis object corresponding to the object search
condition information, and the index of the associated information
including the associated information corresponding to the associated
information search condition information; searches for the analysis
object identified by the object search condition information from the
main storage portion and stores, into the main storage portion, the index
associating the associated information with the analysis object
information corresponding to the searched analysis object; and searches
for the information corresponding to the search condition information
from the respective indexes stored in the main storage portion.

[0022] Further, still another aspect of the present invention provides an
information search method for the use of an information processing device
including a data storage portion having stored an index of analysis
object information, an index of associated information which is a
predetermined analysis result for each analysis object, and an index
associating the analysis object information with the associated
information of the analysis object, and a main storage portion
temporarily storing the respective indexes read out from the data storage
portion, the method including:

[0023] accepting object search condition information which is the
condition for identifying the analysis object, and associated information
search condition information which is the condition for identifying the
associated information, as search condition information denoting a search
request of the information to be searched for from the data storage
portion; and

[0024] storing, into the main storage portion from the data storage
portion, the index of the analysis object information including the
analysis object corresponding to the object search condition information,
and the index of the associated information including the associated
information corresponding to the associated information search condition
information, searching for the analysis object identified by the object
search condition information from the main storage portion and storing,
into the main storage portion, the index associating the associated
information with the analysis object information corresponding to the
searched analysis object, and searching for the information corresponding
to the search condition information from the respective indexes stored in
the main storage portion, when reading out at least some of the
respective indexes from the data storage portion to store the same into
the main storage portion based on the search condition information, and
searching for the information corresponding to the search condition
information from the respective indexes stored in the main storage
portion.

[0025] By taking the above configuration, the present invention is capable
of facilitating improvement in the search speed on analytical data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0026] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information
search device in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the
present invention;

[0030]FIG. 4B shows another example of the segment sequence index stored
in the index information database disclosed in FIG. 1;

[0031] FIG. 4C shows still another example of the segment sequence index
stored in the index information database disclosed in FIG. 1;

[0032]FIG. 4D shows still another example of the segment sequence index
stored in the index information database disclosed in FIG. 1;

[0033] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the information
search device disclosed in FIG. 1;

[0034] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing part of the operation of the
information search device disclosed in FIG. 1;

[0035] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an aspect of the operation
in searching by the information search device disclosed in FIG. 1; and

[0036]FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information
search device in accordance with Supplementary Note 1 of the present
invention.

EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

A First Exemplary Embodiment

[0037] Referring to FIGS. 1 through 7, a first exemplary embodiment of the
present invention will be explained. FIGS. 1 through 4 show a
configuration of an information search device, while FIGS. 5 through 7
show an operation of the information search device.

[0038] [Configuration]

[0039] An information search device 1 in accordance with the present
invention is an information processing device including a computation
device and a storage device, and has a function of searching for the data
satisfying a requested condition from the analytical data analyzed by a
predetermined analytical engine. Therefore, the information search device
1 has the following configuration as shown in FIG. 1.

[0040] First, the information search device 1 includes a request
acceptance portion 11, a request decomposition portion 12, an information
search portion 13, an index read-ahead planning portion 14, and an index
read-in portion 15 which are all constructed by installing computer
programs into the computation device. Further, the information search
device 1 includes a data storage portion 20 in the storage device, i.e.,
an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk drive or the like, so as
to store the analytical data of search objects analyzed by the
predetermined analytical engine. Further, the information search device 1
includes an index information database 24 and an index read-in history 25
in the storage device, i.e., the auxiliary storage device. Further, the
information search device 1 includes a main storage portion 30, i.e., a
DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) to temporarily store part of the
information in the data storage portion 20, in order to carry out a
process of searching for the desired information from the data storage
portion 20. Hereinbelow, each configuration will be described in detail.

[0041] First, the data storage portion 20 stores the analytical data as
described above. The analytical data in this exemplary embodiment is, for
example, an "analysis result of motion lines of a person" obtained by
analyzing the moving image taken within a predetermined range. In
particular, it includes a "person" of the analysis object, "place" where
that person is located, "time and date (time of day)", "outfit" of the
person, and the like. Then, the data storage portion 20 collectively
stores the analytical data such as the information of the analysis object
itself, the outfit of the person, and the like as described above,
according to an "index" for each data. Hereinbelow, referring to FIG. 2,
an example will be explained for the "index" of the analytical data in
this exemplary embodiment.

[0042] First, the "index" of the analytical data has a trajectory index 21
denoting "person's trajectory" as the index of the analysis object. The
trajectory index 21 stores information denoting the specific place of
each person for each period of time, such as the information denoting
"the person in x (place) from x (time) to x (time) on x (month) x (day).
Then, the information in the trajectory index 21 is classified into the
"segment" identified by the "period of time" and the "person".

[0043] Further, the "index" of the analytical data has an outfit index 22
denoting the "outfit information" of each person as the index of related
information which is the analysis result of each person of the analysis
object. In particular, the outfit index 22 stores, for example,
information denoting the "type" and "color" of the outfit of each person
such as "gray jacket", and being classified into the "segment" identified
by the "type" of outfit, and the "ID for identifying outfit".

[0044] Further, the "index" of the analytical data has a person-outfit
index 23 which is information denoting the association between the
"person" which is the aforementioned analysis object, and the "outfit
information" which is associated information with the analysis object. In
particular, the person-outfit index 23 stores information of associating
"the person detected in an image from x (time) to x (time) on x
(month)×(day)" with the "type and color of the outfit" of each
person in the outfit index 22. Further, in the person-outfit index 23,
the information is classified into "segment" identified by the "period of
time" and "person".

[0045] By using each of the indexes 21, 22 and 23 as above, first, the
"person" present in the image of a predetermined time and date is
identified form the trajectory index 21. Then, with the person-outfit
index 23, it is possible to identify the "outfit information" associated
with this "person", and detect the ID for identifying the outfit from the
outfit index 22 based on this "outfit information".

[0046] Further, the index information database 24 of the information
search device 1 stores the meta-information of identifying each of the
above indexes 21, 22 and 23, that is, the meta-information of identifying
each segment into which each index is divided respectively under a
predetermined condition. In particular, it stores an "index-segment
sequence table" shown in FIG. 3, and a "segment sequence index" shown in
FIGS. 4A to 4D.

[0047] First, the index-segment sequence table shown in FIG. 3 has an
"index ID" for identifying the index. For example, it has information of
"idx_person", "idx_outfit", and "idx_p-o" as the "index ID" denoting the
trajectory index 21, outfit index 22, and person-outfit index 23,
respectively. Further, the index-segment sequence table has a "data type"
denoting the data content of each of the indexes 21, 22, and 23. For
example, it has the information of "person, trajectory, location",
"outfit", and "person, outfit", as the "data type" denoting the data
contents of the trajectory index 21, outfit index 22, and person-outfit
index 23, respectively.

[0048] Further, the index-segment sequence table has a "divisional axis
ID" denoting the divisional axis of each segment in each index, and a
"segment sequence" denoting the sequence of dividing the respective
segments corresponding to the divisional axis. For example, as described
above, in the trajectory index 21, because the information is classified
into the "segment" identified by the "time" and "person", each segment is
sorted into "seg01" and "seg02" denoting each sequence of the "person"
and "time", respectively. Likewise, in the outfit index 22, because the
information is classified into the "segment" identified by the "ID for
identifying color" of outfit, and "type" of outfit, each segment is
sorted into "seg01" and "seg02" denoting each sequence of the "ID for
identifying color" and "type", respectively. Still likewise, in the
person-outfit index 23, because the information is classified into the
"segment" identified by the "time" and "person", each segment is sorted
into "seg01" and "seg02" denoting each sequence of the "person" and
"time", respectively.

[0049] Then, the segment sequence index shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D is
information of identifying each segment included in the segment sequence
of each index described above. For example, first, FIG. 4A is information
of identifying each segment included in the segment sequence "seg01" when
the "idx_person" of the trajectory index 21 is sorted by the person, and
stores the segment (Posting List (segment ID)) corresponding to each
person (term). To make a detailed description, in FIG. 4A, the person
"person01" is associated with the segments "seg010001, seg010002, . . .
", whereby it is possible to identify that the trajectory information of
the person "person01" is included in the segments "seg010001, seg010002,
. . . ".

[0050] Further, FIG. 4A is information of identifying each segment
included in the segment sequence "seg02" when the "idx_person" of the
trajectory index 21 is sorted by the time, and stores the segment
(Posting List (segment ID)) corresponding to each period of time (term).
Further, FIG. 4C is information of identifying each segment included in
the segment sequence "seg02" when the "idx_outfit" of the outfit index 22
is sorted by the type of outfit, and stores the segment (Posting List
(segment ID)) corresponding to the type of each outfit (term). Further,
FIG. 4D is information of identifying each segment included in the
segment sequence "seg01" when the "idx_p-o" of the person-outfit index 23
is sorted by the person, and stores the segment (Posting List (segment
ID)) corresponding to each person (term).

[0051] As will be described later, the aforementioned index read-in
history 25 of the information search device 1 stores history information
denoting the index segments which have already been read into the main
storage portion 30. By referring to this index read-in history 25, the
information search portion 13, the index read-in portion 15 and the like
can recognize the index segments stored in the main storage portion 30,
and can read additional segments into the main storage portion 30 as
necessary for a new search.

[0052] Further, the main storage portion 30 of the information search
device 1 is, also as will be described later, a storage device
temporarily storing each segment read out of the data storage portion 20,
i.e., each of the indexes 21, 22, and 23, by the index read-in portion 15
according to the commands from the information search portion 13 and
index read-ahead planning portion 14 when searching for the desired
information from the analytical data. Then, on this main storage portion
30, the search is performed by the information search portion 13 from the
segments which are the indexes stored in the main storage portion 30.

[0053] Further, the request acceptance portion 11 (search request
acceptance means) of the information search device 1 accepts search
condition information denoting a search request of the analytical data
from a client 2 which is an information processing device. As an example,
the search condition information is such information as "the outerwear
information for a person using the elevator from 11:00 to 12:00 on
December 22". Then, the request acceptance portion 11 passes the accepted
search condition information to the request decomposition portion 12.
With this, the request decomposition portion 12 decomposes the search
condition information, according to a preset rule, into "a person using
the elevator from 11:00 to 12:00 on December 22" of the part "object
search condition information" which is the condition for identifying the
"person" of the analysis object, and "the outerwear information of a
person" of the part "search condition information for associated
information" which is the condition for identifying the "associated
information" of the "person" of the search object. Then, the request
decomposition portion 12 returns the decomposition result to the request
acceptance portion 11. By virtue of this, the request acceptance portion
11 can distinguish and recognize the search condition information between
"a person using the elevator from 11:00 to 12:00 on December 22" of the
part "object search condition information", and "the outerwear
information of a person" of the part "search condition information for
associated information". Further, the search condition information may
also be inputted as being distinguished between "a person using the
elevator from 11:00 to 12:00 on December 22" of the part "object search
condition information", and "the outerwear information of a person" of
the part "search condition information for associated information". In
such case, the request acceptance portion 11 can accept the inputted
search condition information as it is, being distinguished between the
part "object search condition information" and the part "search condition
information for associated information".

[0054] Further, the information search portion 13, index read-ahead
planning portion 14 and index read-in portion 15 (the search means) of
the information search device 1 carries out a search of the analytical
data corresponding to the relevant search condition according to the
search condition information accepted as described above. At this time,
the information search portion 13 carries out the search with two phases
such as (phase 1) reading out the segments which are part of each index
from the data storage portion 20 by the index read-in portion 15 and
storing the same into the main storage portion 30 while carrying out the
search for the analysis object and, thereafter, (phase 2) carrying out
the search for the associated information of the analysis object.

[0055] In particular, in search for the analysis object at the first phase
(1), first, the index read-in portion 15 identifies the segment including
the "person" of the analysis object corresponding to the "object search
condition information", and reads out this segment from the trajectory
index 21 to store the same into the main storage portion 30. Then, the
information search portion 13 searches for the "person" of the analysis
object corresponding to the "object search condition information" on the
segments of the trajectory index 21 stored in the main storage portion
30. Further, receiving the search result of the "person" from the
information search portion 13, the index read-in portion 15 reads out the
segment, which is the information denoting the association between the
relevant person to the searched "person", and the outfit information,
from the person-outfit index 23, so as to store the same into the main
storage portion 30.

[0056] Then, in this exemplary embodiment, in parallel with the analysis
object search process at the above first phase (1), the index read-ahead
planning portion 14 and index read-in portion 15 further carry out a
process of identifying the segment including the "outerwear information"
which is the associated information corresponding to the "search
condition information for associated information", and reading out this
segment from the outfit index 22 to store the same into the main storage
portion 30.

[0057] Thereafter, the information search portion 13 searches for the
"outerwear information" which is the associated information corresponding
to the "search condition information for associated information", of the
"person" corresponding to the "object search condition information", from
each segment of each of the indexes 21, 22, and 23; that is, part of the
information of each of the indexes 21, 22, and 23 stored in the main
storage portion 30. Further, the specific processing content will be
described in detail in the following explanation for operation.

[0058] [Operation]

[0059] Next, referring to FIGS. 5 through 7, the operation of the
abovementioned information search device 1 will be explained. Further,
the data storage portion 20 of the information search device 1 is
supposed, as described above, to have stored the "analytical data of
motion lines of person" organized by each of the indexes 21, 22, and 23.

[0060] First, the information search device 1 lets the request acceptance
portion 11 accept the search condition information denoting a search
request of the analytical data, inputted from the client 2 (Yes in step
S1 of FIG. 5). Here, for example, it is supposed to have accepted such
search condition information as "the outerwear information for a person
using the elevator from 11:00 to 12:00 on December 22". Then, via the
request decomposition portion 12, the request acceptance portion 11
decomposes the above search condition information into "a person using
the elevator from 11:00 to 12:00 on December 22" of the part "object
search condition information" which is the condition for identifying the
"person" of the analysis object, and "the outerwear information of a
person" of the part "search condition information for associated
information" which is the condition for identifying the "associated
information" of the "person" of the search object (step S2 of FIG. 5).
Then, the request acceptance portion 11 passes the search condition
information, which is the part "object search condition information" and
the part "search condition information for associated information", to
the information search portion 13.

[0061] Next, the information search device 1 lets the information search
portion 13, index read-ahead planning portion 14 and index read-in
portion 15 carry out a search process, as shown in FIG. 7, with such two
phases as: (1) the search process of the analysis object to search for "a
person using the elevator from 11:00 to 12:00 on December 22" of the part
"object search condition information" accepted, and (2) the search
process of the associated information of the analysis object to search
for "the outerwear information of a person" of the part "search condition
information for associated information" accepted.

[0062] In particular, referring to FIG. 7, the processing content in each
phase will be explained. Further, the numeral 30 in FIG. 7 denotes a
snapshot image of a memory area in the main storage portion 30.

[0063] First, in (1) the analysis object search of the first phase, as
shown by the symbol A1 of FIG. 7, the index read-in portion 15 identifies
the segment including the "person" of the analysis object corresponding
to the "object search condition information", and reads out this segment
from the trajectory index 21 to store the same into the main storage
portion 30. For example, if the "object search condition information" is
"a person using the elevator from 11:00 to 12:00 on December 22", then
the index read-in portion 15 first identifies the segment including the
"person" detected in the period of time from 11:00 to 12:00 on December
22". Therefore, it identifies the segment sequence "seg02" wherein the
"divisional axis ID" is the "time" among the trajectory index
"idx_person" wherein the "data type segment sequence" is the "person,
trajectory, location", from the index-segment sequence table shown in
FIG. 3. Then, it identifies the "segment" wherein the "term" is
associated with "11:00 to 12:00 on December 22" from the segment sequence
index corresponding to this segment sequence "seg02" as shown in FIG. 4B,
and reads out this "segment" from the trajectory index 21 to store the
same into the main storage portion 30. With this, among the segments in
the trajectory index 21 shown in FIG. 7, the part displayed in vertical
lines is stored in the main storage portion 30.

[0064] Subsequently, in (1) the analysis object search, the information
search portion 13 searches for the "person" located in the "elevator"
corresponding to the "object search condition information", as shown by
the symbol B1 of FIG. 7, with respect to the segments of the trajectory
index 21 stored in the main storage portion 30. In this manner, it first
searches for "a person using the elevator from 11:00 to 12:00 on December
22" of the analysis object satisfying the search request (step S3 of FIG.
5).

[0065] Still subsequently, in (1) the analysis object search, as shown by
the symbol A3 of FIG. 7, the index read-in portion 15 reads out, from the
person-outfit index 23, the segment including information denoting the
association between the outfit information, and the person corresponding
to the "person" searched by the information search portion 13, so as to
store the same into the main storage portion 30. In this case, because of
needing the information corresponding to the searched "person", it first
identifies the segment sequence "seg02" which is the "ID (person)"
wherein the "divisional axis ID" denotes the person among the
person-outfit index "idex_p-o" wherein the "data type segment sequence"
is the "person, outfit", from the index-segment sequence table shown in
FIG. 3 (step S4 of FIG. 5). Then, it identifies the "segment" wherein the
"term" is the searched "person (person01, . . . )" from the segment
sequence index corresponding to this segment sequence "seg02" as shown in
FIG. 4D, and reads out this "segment" form the person-outfit index 23 to
store the same into the main storage portion 30 (step S5 of FIG. 5). With
this, among the segments in the person-outfit index 23 shown in FIG. 7,
the hatched part is stored in the main storage portion 30.

[0066] Here, when storing the segment from the person-outfit index 23 into
the main storage portion 30, the segment to be stored into the main
storage portion 30 may also be identified in the following manner. In
particular, first, in the same manner as described above, the index
read-in portion 15 identifies the segment sequence "seg02" wherein the
"divisional axis ID" is the "ID (person)" denoting the person among the
person-outfit index "idx_p-o" wherein the "data type segment sequence" is
the "person, outfit", from the index-segment sequence table shown in FIG.
3 (step S21 of FIG. 6). Then, it generates a search query which has
conjoined through logical addition (OR conjunction) all the "ID" (object
IDs) of the "person" searched by the information search portion 13 (step
S22 of FIG. 6), and searches with this search query from the segment
sequence index corresponding to the segment sequence "seg02" as shown in
FIG. 4D (step S23 of FIG. 6). That is, it searches for the "segment"
wherein the "ID" of the "person" searched by the information search
portion 13 is included in the "term". Thereafter, it sorts the segment
IDs in descending order of the number of the included "ID" (object IDs)
of the "person" searched by the information search portion 13 (step S24
of FIG. 6), and preferentially stores the anterior segments into the main
storage portion 30. That is, it preferentially stores, into the main
storage portion 30, the "segment" including more "person" searched by the
information search portion 13, in the person-outfit index 23.

[0067] Then, in (1) the analysis object search process, in parallel with
carrying out this analysis object search process, as shown by the symbol
A2 of FIG. 7, the index read-ahead planning portion 14 and index read-in
portion 15 carry out a process of identifying the segment including the
associated information corresponding to the "search condition information
for associated information", and reading out this segment from the outfit
index 22 to store the same into the main storage portion 30. That is,
from starting the segment read-in from the trajectory index 21 shown by
the symbol A1 of FIG. 7, in parallel with carrying out the person search
process shown by the symbol B1, and the segment read-in process from the
person-outfit index 23 shown by the symbol A3, it carries out a
read-ahead of the segment including the associated information
corresponding to the "search condition information for associated
information".

[0068] For example, if the "search condition information for associated
information" is the "outfit information of a person", then the index
read-ahead planning portion 14 first identifies the information wherein
the outfit is "outerwear" (step S7 of FIG. 5). Accordingly, the index
read-ahead planning portion 14 identifies the segment sequence "seg02"
which is the "type" wherein the "divisional axis ID" denotes an outfit
type in the trajectory index "idex_outfit" wherein the "data type segment
sequence" is "outfit", from the index-segment sequence table shown in
FIG. 3. Then, the index read-ahead planning portion 14 identifies the
"segment" wherein the "term" is the "outerwear (type01, for example)"
from the segment sequence index corresponding to this segment sequence
"seg02" as shown in FIG. 4C. Thereafter, the index read-in portion 15
reads out this identified segment from the outfit index 22 to store the
same into the main storage portion 30 (step S8 of FIG. 5). With this,
among the segments in the outfit index 22 shown in FIG. 7, the part in
diagonal lines is stored in the main storage portion 30.

[0069] In this manner, the information search device 1 in accordance with
the present invention carries out a process of storing the information
related to the "outerwear", which is the "associated information" of the
relevant search object, into the main storage portion 30 before
identifying the "person" of the "search object".

[0070] Then, as described above, after storing, into the main storage
portion 30, all of the segments including the "outerwear information"
corresponding to the "search condition information for associated
information" (Yes in step S6 of FIG. 5), the information search portion
13 carries out the second phase: (2) the associated information search
process (step S9 of FIG. 5). However, (2) the associated information
search process is not limited to being started after storing, into the
main storage portion 30, all of the segments including the "outerwear
information" corresponding to the "search condition information for
associated information". (2) The associated information search process
may also be started before storing, into the main storage portion 30, all
of the segments including the "outerwear information" corresponding to
the "search condition information for associated information".

[0071] Further, as shown by the symbol A3 of FIG. 7, (2) the associated
information search process may also be started just when the index
read-in portion 15 reads out, from the person-outfit index 23, the
segment including the information denoting the association between the
outfit information, and the relevant person corresponding to the "person"
searched by the information search portion 13, so as to store the same
into the main storage portion 30. In such case, while carrying out the
search process for the associated information by using the segment from
the person-outfit index 23 already stored in the main storage portion 30,
another process is carried out in parallel to read out the residual
segments from the person-outfit index 23 and store the same into the main
storage portion 30 (step S10 of FIG. 5).

[0072] In particular, (2) the associated information search process first
searches for the information corresponding to the "person" searched in
(1) the analysis object search process from the segments stored into the
main storage portion 30 from the person-outfit index 23. Then, because it
is possible to identify the outfit information associated with the
"person" searched in (1) the analysis object search process, with this
outfit information as the key, the outfit information is searched for
from inside the segments stored into the main storage portion 30 from the
outfit index 22 as described above (the symbol B2 of FIG. 7 for step S9
of FIG. 5). By virtue of this, it is possible to search for the
information corresponding to "the outerwear information for a person
using the elevator from 11:00 to 12:00 on December 22" which is the
search request.

[0073] In the above manner, in the information search device 1 in
accordance with the present invention, the search request is divided into
the "object search condition information" and the "search condition
information for associated information"; in (1) the analysis object
search process, from before searching the "person" corresponding to the
"object search condition information", the segment of the outfit index
22, which includes the "associated information" corresponding to the
"search condition information for associated information" independent of
that object, is read into the main storage portion 30 beforehand. That
is, in parallel with the process of searching for the "person" of the
analysis object, another process is carried out to read the "associated
information" of each person into the main storage portion 30. Therefore,
compared with the case of reading the segment including the "associated
information" corresponding to the relevant "person" from the outfit index
22 into the main storage portion 30 after searching for the "person", it
is possible to reduce the read-in time. As a result, it is possible to
facilitate speed-up of the search process itself of the analytical data.

[0074] <Supplementary Notes>

[0075] The whole or part of the exemplary embodiment disclosed above can
be described as the following supplementary notes. Hereinbelow, an
outline of the configuration of an information search device in
accordance with the present invention will be explained with reference to
FIG. 8. However, the present invention is not limited to following
configuration.

[0076] (Supplementary Note 1)

[0077] An information search device 100 comprising:

[0078] a data storage portion 120 having stored an index 121 of analysis
object information, an index 122 of associated information which is a
predetermined analysis result for each analysis object, and an index 123
associating the analysis object information with the associated
information of the analysis object;

[0079] a main storage portion 130 temporarily storing the respective
indexes read out from the data storage portion;

[0080] a search request acceptance means 111 for accepting search
condition information denoting a search request of the information to be
searched for from the data storage portion; and

[0081] a search means 112 for reading out at least some of the respective
indexes from the data storage portion to store the same into the main
storage portion based on the search condition information, and searching
for the information corresponding to the search condition information
from the respective indexes stored in the main storage portion,

[0082] wherein the search request acceptance means 111 accepts, as the
search condition information, object search condition information which
is the condition for identifying the analysis object, and associated
information search condition information which is the condition for
identifying the associated information,

[0083] wherein the search means 112 stores, into the main storage portion
from the data storage portion, the index of the analysis object
information including the analysis object corresponding to the object
search condition information, and the index of the associated information
including the associated information corresponding to the associated
information search condition information; searches for the analysis
object identified by the object search condition information from the
main storage portion and stores, into the main storage portion, the index
associating the associated information with the analysis object
information corresponding to the searched analysis object; and searches
for the information corresponding to the search condition information
from the respective indexes stored in the main storage portion.

[0084] (Supplementary Note 2)

[0085] The information search device according to Supplementary Note 1,
wherein while carrying out the process of storing, into the main storage
portion, the index of the analysis object information including the
analysis object corresponding to the object search condition information,
the process of searching for the analysis object identified by the object
search condition information from the main storage portion, and the
process of storing, into the main storage portion, the index associating
the associated information with the analysis object information
corresponding to the searched analysis object, the search means stores,
into the main storage portion, the index of the associated information
including the associated information corresponding to the associated
information search condition information.

[0086] (Supplementary Note 3)

[0087] The information search device according to Supplementary Note 2,
wherein the search means searches for the information corresponding to
the search condition information from the respective indexes stored in
the main storage portion after storing, into the main storage portion,
all of the indexes of the associated information including the associated
information corresponding to the associated information search condition
information.

[0088] (Supplementary Note 4)

[0089] The information search device according to any one of Supplementary
Notes 1 to 3, wherein meta-information is stored to identify each segment
into which each of the indexes is divided under a predetermined condition
respectively; and based on the meta-information, the search means
identifies and stores, into the main storage portion, the segments of the
index of the analysis object information including the analysis object
corresponding to the object search condition information, the segments of
the index of the associated information including the associated
information corresponding to the associated information search condition
information, and the segments of the index associating the associated
information with the analysis object information corresponding to the
searched analysis object.

[0090] (Supplementary Note 5)

[0091] The information search device according to Supplementary Note 4,
wherein the search means preferentially stores, into the main storage
portion, the segments of the index associating the associated information
with the analysis object information including more analysis object
information corresponding to the searched analysis object.

[0092] (Supplementary Note 6)

[0093] A computer program comprising instructions for causing an
information processing device to realize a function,

[0094] the information processing device comprising:

[0095] a data storage portion having stored an index of analysis object
information, an index of associated information which is a predetermined
analysis result for each analysis object, and an index associating the
analysis object information with the associated information of the
analysis object; and

[0096] a main storage portion temporarily storing the respective indexes
read out from the data storage portion,

[0097] the function comprising:

[0098] a search request acceptance means for accepting search condition
information denoting a search request of the information to be searched
for from the data storage portion; and

[0099] a search means for reading out at least some of the respective
indexes from the data storage portion to store the same into the main
storage portion based on the search condition information, and searching
for the information corresponding to the search condition information
from the respective indexes stored in the main storage portion,

[0100] wherein the search request acceptance means accepts, as the search
condition information, object search condition information which is the
condition for identifying the analysis object, and associated information
search condition information which is the condition for identifying the
associated information,

[0101] wherein the search means stores, into the main storage portion from
the data storage portion, the index of the analysis object information
including the analysis object corresponding to the object search
condition information, and the index of the associated information
including the associated information corresponding to the associated
information search condition information; searches for the analysis
object identified by the object search condition information from the
main storage portion and stores, into the main storage portion, the index
associating the associated information with the analysis object
information corresponding to the searched analysis object; and searches
for the information corresponding to the search condition information
from the respective indexes stored in the main storage portion.

[0102] (Supplementary Note 7)

[0103] The computer program according to Supplementary Note 6, wherein
while carrying out the process of storing, into the main storage portion,
the index of the analysis object information including the analysis
object corresponding to the object search condition information, the
process of searching for the analysis object identified by the object
search condition information from the main storage portion, and the
process of storing, into the main storage portion, the index associating
the associated information with the analysis object information
corresponding to the searched analysis object, the search means stores,
into the main storage portion, the index of the associated information
including the associated information corresponding to the associated
information search condition information.

[0104] (Supplementary Note 8)

[0105] An information search method for the use of an information
processing device including a data storage portion having stored an index
of analysis object information, an index of associated information which
is a predetermined analysis result for each analysis object, and an index
associating the analysis object information with the associated
information of the analysis object, and a main storage portion
temporarily storing the respective indexes read out from the data storage
portion, the method comprising:

[0106] accepting object search condition information which is the
condition for identifying the analysis object, and associated information
search condition information which is the condition for identifying the
associated information, as search condition information denoting a search
request of the information to be searched for from the data storage
portion; and

[0107] storing, into the main storage portion from the data storage
portion, the index of the analysis object information including the
analysis object corresponding to the object search condition information,
and the index of the associated information including the associated
information corresponding to the associated information search condition
information, searching for the analysis object identified by the object
search condition information from the main storage portion and storing,
into the main storage portion, the index associating the associated
information with the analysis object information corresponding to the
searched analysis object, and searching for the information corresponding
to the search condition information from the respective indexes stored in
the main storage portion, when reading out at least some of the
respective indexes from the data storage portion to store the same into
the main storage portion based on the search condition information, and
searching for the information corresponding to the search condition
information from the respective indexes stored in the main storage
portion.

[0108] (Supplementary Note 9)

[0109] The information search method according to Supplementary Note 8,
wherein when reading out at least some of the respective indexes from the
data storage portion to store the same into the main storage portion
based on the search condition information, the index of the associated
information, which includes the associated information corresponding to
the associated information search condition information, is stored into
the main storage portion, while carrying out the process of storing, into
the main storage portion, the index of the analysis object information
including the analysis object corresponding to the object search
condition information, the process of searching for the analysis object
identified by the object search condition information from the main
storage portion, and the process of storing, into the main storage
portion, the index associating the associated information with the
analysis object information corresponding to the searched analysis
object.

[0110] Further, the computer program in the above each exemplary
embodiment is stored either in a storage device or in a recording medium
readable by a computer. The recording medium is, for example, a portable
medium such as a flexible disk, optical disk, magnetic optical disk,
semiconductor memory, or the like.

[0111] Hereinabove, the present invention is explained in reference to the
above each exemplary embodiment. However, the present invention is not
limited to the above exemplary embodiment. It is possible to apply
various changes understandable by those skilled in the art to the
configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of
the present invention.

[0112] Further, the present application claims priority from Japanese
Patent Application No. 2011-12711, filed on Jan. 25, 2011 in Japan, the
disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.